Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Acquires Shares of 1,074 Elevance Health, Inc. $ELV

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $418,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 152.0% in the 1st quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 63 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Elevance Health in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Riverview Trust Co increased its holdings in Elevance Health by 1,340.0% in the 1st quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 72 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the first quarter valued at $40,000. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

NYSE:ELV opened at $351.11 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $307.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $361.67. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $273.71 and a 1-year high of $510.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.59.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $8.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.30 by ($0.46). Elevance Health had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 2.83%.The firm had revenue of $49.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $10.12 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th were paid a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is 29.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on ELV shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on Elevance Health from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partners restated a “market perform” rating and set a $310.00 price target (down from $510.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Elevance Health from $428.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $411.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gail Boudreaux bought 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $286.94 per share, with a total value of $2,438,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 151,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,333,678.80. This represents a 5.96% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan D. Devore purchased 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $312.15 per share, with a total value of $374,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,149.30. The trade was a 52.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Profile

Elevance Health, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a health benefits company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Health Benefits, CarelonRx, Carelon Services, and Corporate & Other. It offers a variety of health plans and services to program members; health products; an array of fee-based administrative managed care services; and specialty and other insurance products and services, such as stop loss, dental, vision, life, disability, and supplemental health insurance benefits.